The Second Shard Detector
by GLeaf
Summary: DISCONTINUED!When a sit too many results in Inuyasha arriving too late to save Kagome, Kikyo joins the group as the new shikon senser to help look for Kagome. Pairings are InuKik, SanMir, AyaKou.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: (sigh) I guess we all know but I'm going to say this anyway but I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters in it.

Review are welcome by anyone but flamers who flame just because I like/hate a character they don't might as well not be trying. Constructive criticism is okay though.

_A group of five were walking down a rusty road. The group consisted of a demon layer, a monk, a half demon, a little fox demon and a school girl._

"_Oh look there is Kaede's village up ahead," said the schoolgirl cheerfully._

"_Well duh, you're not the only one with eyes, Kagome", grumbled the half demon, who was walking at the rear of the group. _

"_Inuyasha, you don't have to be so grumpy all the time," the girl retorted, slightly put-off._

"_Yeah right, Naraku has almost all the shards of the shikon jewel. He's killing people left and right, oh yeah, we should be hurting our damned faces smiling for joy. We don't have time for this whole thing. We need to go collect the rest of the shards before he finds them." Inuyasha replied._

"_Well if you stopped thinking about the shards for just a minute, then maybe you'll know how tiring it is to us to go chasing after them all the time." yelled Kagome._

"_What the hell do you mean by that? It's because of you that the jewel got broken anyway. You should………_

"_There they go again," said the demon slayer to the monk beside her, "Inuyasha really doesn't know when to stop, does he?"_

"_True, he doesn't realize that no matter how much he argues, the result will always be the same," the monk replied. _

" _I heard that Miroku, and its not my damned fault she uses that stupid rosary on me whenever she finds out she's lost." Inuyasha yelled at the monk._

"_What do you mean when I have lost? You're the one who's always thinking about nothing except the shikon shard," Kagome yelled at Inuyasha._

"_Well you're the one who is always thinking about yourself. Why can't you just leave sleeping on a bed for until after we've defeated Naraku."_

"_Well the way we've been going about it that might as well take forever."_

"_That's because you're always getting kidnapped and you're always whining about going any further. You're always slowing us down, sheesh"_

"_Its coming," said Miroku._

"_Uh huh" agreed Sango._

_Five seconds passed by………… Then,_

_SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT !_

_OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW !_

_Where the half demon had been standing previously, there was a huge cloud of dust covering a 10 foot crater on the ground._

"_What was that for?" Inuyasha yelled._

"_Geez I can hardly guess," and the girl walked away in a huff._

"_Why you little-,"Inuyasha stopped at the sight of a little fox demon sticking his tongue out at him. "Why you little,"_

"_Better not push it, Shippo," Miroku told the fox demon. The rest of the group walked away leaving Inuyasha yelling after them._

"Hey, Kagome, weren't you a little harsh on Inuyasha back then?", the demon slayer asked the schoolgirl who was sitting beside her as they were eating. A few minutes ago, the group, minus the half demon had decided to stop and wait for the latter to catch up with them. When he didn't return for a while, they had decided to have lunch during the wait.

"Huh, No way," exclaimed the girl. Then she stopped and then said softly, "well maybe I was. I was just so mad that he went chasing after Kikyo again last night. I guess I kinda lost control." She sighed and spoke again," sometimes I feel like I'm just butting in on their relationship. I mean, it was all Naraku's fault they got separated and now I'm here making it doubly hard. But she's dead now and she tried to kill him so I have just as much right to be with him as she does," she finished a little forcefully.

Sango looked at her. She started to speak but Kagome interrupted her, "I wonder what would have happened if I had arrived at the past 50 years ago. I wouldn't have had a chance. She would have been alive back then and there wouldn't have been anything to get between them." Sango opened her mouth to speak again but stopped. She had a feeling she had missed something important from Kagome's speech. She was distracted from the subject however as Miroku had taken just that moment to rub her back side.

Seconds later after a loud "WHAP" the monk sported a red handprint on his face. A few seconds after that, Inuyasha staggered in.

"So Inuyasha, you have finally returned," said Miroku.

"Shut up you lecherous monk," snapped Inuyasha. He sat down without greeting the rest of the group and without a glance in the direction of Kagome's cooking, he grabbed a cup of ramen and began eating it.

"Hey Inuyasha, you're such a jerk to Kagome. She made all this food and you're not even trying it," said Shippo.

Miroku and Sango looked at each other and sighed. And sure enough, as soon as Inuyasha started to snap back at Shippo, Kagome sent another volley of 'sits' right at him.

"Dammit Kagome, What was that for! but Kagome was already walking away, "Come on will you? We need to hurry up." Sango, Shippo, and Kirara jumped up to join her. Inuyasha was left with Miroku, who stared at him and then said, "I think you should make the choice soon Inuyasha. Neither Lady Kagome or Lady Kikyo deserve to put up with your two-timing habits any longer." He walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

Inuyasha fumed as he lay on the ground. It had been almost one hour since Kagome had 'sat' him. They had almost worn off but he wasn't in any mood to get up and follow the scent of the group. They were getting farther and farther away though. He could sense that. Why weren't they waiting for him to catch up? Was Kagome really that mad because he went to Kikyo again last night? It wasn't his fault he was so attracted to her. She had been the first woman after his mother who had not treated him like he wasn't fit to be alive. Kagome had some characteristics of Kikyo but she wasn't Kikyo. No matter how much she looked like her, she just wasn't.

Inuyasha sighed as he remembered what the monk had said. His words had been true. Neither Kagome nor Kikyo deserved to be in the dark any longer, but how could he choose. If he chose Kikyo, Kagome would be heartbroken, but, if he chose Kagome, he would be breaking the promise he had made to Kikyo that evening in the boat.

"Augh, dammit. I just can't choose," he yelled in frustration. But just as he said this, he heard a scream from the direction the rest of the group were in. Kagome's scream. Kagome was in trouble! He jumped up and started to run towards the group. But they had walked a long way since they had left him and he thought he probably would be too late. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath but he continues to run anyway, "Hang in there Kagome."

Meanwhile, the rest of the group had been walking for a while when Miroku decided it was time to say something. Kagome had been very silent the whole time since they had left Inuyasha. Sango and Shippo were taking the lead from her and were also being very quiet, and the group which was usually pretty cheerful had a very gloomy atmosphere to it now.

"Lady Kagome," he began. Sango glared at him and Shippo looked at him. He ignored them and continued, "Don't you think its time we stopped and waited for Inuyasha to catch up to us."

Kagome stopped walking but she didn't say anything. Sango took this for a good sign and started talking also, "I think we should stop, too, Kagome. Inuyasha might need some time to recover and come after us, so," she trailed off seeing the look on Kagome's face. She and Miroku exchanged a look and they both understood that it was best to leave the subject of Inuyasha out of the conversation for a while. However, Shippo thought what Kagome needed was a good dose of Inuyasha-is-a-jerk comments and tried to cheer her up by doing so. A few minutes after he had started, however, it was clear that Kagome was even more upset than before and he stopped. She looked almost ready to cry.

Sango leaned over to Miroku and then they began one of their whispered conversations again.

"Hey, monk, why do you think she is so much angrier than she is usually?"

"Maybe something happened with her and Inuyasha the night he was out with Lady Kikyo."

"Do you really think so?"

"That or she's finally tired of his two-timing behaviour and wants him to stop seeing Kikyo for good."

"Do you think he'll stop now that she's so mad at him?"

"I don't think Inuyasha knows yet how serious the situation has become."

"So, who do you think deserves him better?"

"They are both deserving, but only if Lady Kikyo would like to be with him alive and Lady Kagome also has problems with having two different lives. She has to settle down someplace."

"So you don't think Kagome deserves him more than Kikyo?"

"I think he will have problems settling down with either of them."

"But do you think Kagome deserves him better than Kikyo."

"No."

Sango was surprised at Miroku's answer. She didn't think Miroku would desert Kagome like that, but, even as she thought this, she felt a little like she agreed with him but the next second she had pushed the thought out of her head. _Kagome deserves him better!_

Miroku looked at Sango cautiously. He rather thought he had told her a bit too much. She might tell Kagome what he had said and that would deepen Kagome's sadness. _No, Sango was too sensible to do that at a time like this_, he thought. He relaxed and realized that Sango's butt was in full view. Being, who he was, he couldn't resist, and went over to her and carried out the job. He was rewarded as usual with a stinging slap on the face. A blushing Sango walked away from him and joined Kagome at the front of the group. However, this little action had lightened the mood of the group considerably, and as they continued to walk on, it was with a more pleasant air.

This mood continued for a while until Shippo looked up and noticed the Saimyoushou above them. The others looked up too and they saw that Kohaku and Naraku were with them. Sango immediately threw her boomerang bone at Naraku but it just bounced off his shield. Kagome tried to shoot an arrow but before she knew it, her bow had been grabbed out of her hands by Kohaku's chain. He had also wounded her arm and she buckled over in pain. Sango caught her boomerang bone again and threw it at the Saimyoushou. They just caught it and threw it on the ground. The Saimyoushou then flew towards Kagome. Shippo tried to use his foxfire on them but they just flew through it like it wasn't there. He screamed and ran away.

Miroku unable to use his wind tunnel had been depending on his staff to kick the Saimyoushou. Now he ran to help Kagome but Kohaku stood in his way. Kohaku used his chain to try and take the staff away from Miroku, but Miroku held on and sent him flying to the ground. He got up and ran. Sango took off after him, but it was too late for Miroku to help Kagome. Saimyoushou had caught her and were flying into the air with her, "Aiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeee," she screamed as she was hoisted into the air.

Inuyasha was running as fast as he could towards the place where he had heard the scream, but when he reached the place, he only found Shippo cowering behind a bush. Shippo saw him and said,

"Stupid Inuyasha, You weren't there when Naraku came and now he's taken Kagome with him."

Inuyasha took Shippo's head and hit it several times and then he asked him where the others were.

"Sango took off after Kohaku and Miroku and Kirara were following Naraku I think."

Inuyasha grabbed Shippo and started to run to where Sango was since she seemed closer.

Miroku had been chasing Naraku for a while on Kirara's back, but he began to realize soon that Kirara's speed was no match for Naraku. Naraku just got further and further away until Miroku couldn't see or sense him anywhere. Defeated, he turned around and returned to the place where they had been before.

Sango had been chasing her brother through a forest. She was gaining on him now since he was no match for her. But as soon as she reached him, some Saimyoushou flew down and flew away with him. Sango cursed and started to run after him, but she soon gave up and decided to go back. She met Inuyasha when she was going back and they went back together.


	3. Chapter 3

Yay! I put up the third chapter. I wasn't sure whether or not to continue this story because just after I put up the second chapter, I found out that Kikyo died. Oh well, I'll just make my story before all that. Thanks for the reviews ppl. For a newbie, they sure are a lot of encouragement. Anyways, on to the disclaimer. I'm not sure whether I put this for the second chapter but I'm too lazy to check. So this is for both the chapters: _I don't own any of the characters in the Inuyasha cast._

"What's up with him?" Sango whispered as she leaned over to Miroku, "He's been acting very weird ever since Kagome got kidnapped by Naraku the day before yesterday."

"I quite agree. Inuyasha has been acting quite….unusual lately." he replied.This was true. After they had rejoined with the other members of the group, he had just nodded a bit strangely. They had merely taken this as an act of feeling guilty at having failed to protect Kagome and had ignored it. However, as soon as they had reached Kaede's hut, that look on his face had changed into one of thought and the next day he had started wearing a secret smile on his face.

"I'm going to ask him what's on his mind." said Sango who had grown tired of Inuyasha's attitude. Inuyasha who had heard the whole conversation, twitched at this last comment, whirled around and bellowed,

"WILL YOU TWO STOP WHISPERING BEHIND ME? I CAN HEAR YOU QUITE PERFECTLY YOU KNOW!" They stared at him. He sweat-dropped and said,

"I'm just thinking, okay." They looked at him as though he had just suggested he throw Kagome over a fifty foot cliff leading into an active volcano. Miroku finally recovered and said,

"That's the problem, Inuyasha. Thinking is not usual for you."

"Yeah, he keeps his brain pretty dormant most of the time," said Shippo.

"What?"

"By the way you seem to have been going, I'm pretty surprised you haven't gotten a cramp on it by now." Less than a second later, a very triumphant Inuyasha was grinning in victory, as a certain red headed kitsune was utterly wishing he had kept his mouth shut.

"Heh, no Kagome here now to help you, huh?"

"Inuyasha! Are you saying you're glad Kagome is gone?" exclaimed Sango.

"Of course not! We're going to get her now."

"How? We don't even know where Naraku has taken her!

"Well, that's what I've been thinking about the past two days. Um, you know when Naraku took Kagome, she had the jewel shards with her?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, you know, I've been thinking about it, and I figured, 'hey who can sense the shards other than Kagome? Kikyou, of course.' We could get her to help!" Inuyasha said with a ecstatic grin on his face. However, he was the only one who seemed to think it was a good idea. Miroku was frowning slightly, Shippo looked incredulous, and Sango looked downright annoyed. She was the first to speak,

"So you're saying you want Kikyo to join us to search for Kagome and Naraku?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that,"

Shippo spoke this time,

"What do you mean Inuyasha? First you act like Kagome being out of the group is a good thing. Now, you are trying to replace Kagome with Kikyo! No way are we going to accept that clay pot as one of us!"

"Why you little-," began Inuyasha enraged by the little fox's cheek, "Don't you call Kikyo that you worthless little brat," he shouted as he hit the kitsune on the head several times before Sango slapped him.

"Don't you dare hit him! He's right. Who do you think you are, trying to replace Kagome? Where on earth did you get a stupid idea like that?" she snapped.

"From his stupid head, of course," said Shippo who had tears in his eyes.

"Shut up," yelled Inuyasha and he bonked him on the head again. Shippo began to cry and Sango's fury increased,

"You leave him alone! Its bad enough that you always turn to Kikyo when Kagome goes back to her own time, now you're thinking of getting together with Kikyo when Kagome might be in serious trouble somewhere!" she spat, "I can't believe she doesn't just do what Kikyo did and shoot an arrow at you. Only this time you would really deserve it!. The way you treat her! It's disgusting! You're such a two timer. What does she even see in you? What can you see in a person who is stubborn, jealous, stupid, insensitive, and who two-times you with a dead woman? You seem like you're not even worried Kagome is away!"

"I _am_ worried! Why else do you think I thought of this idea?"

"Maybe because you are such a disgusting two timer that you always have to hurt Kagome's feelings when she's not here!"

"What's your problem? Have you got any other ideas? Do you think you guys are the only ones who can make decisions around here? Why can't I make any? I belong in this group just as much as you do! Maybe even more, because I was part of it before you guys! You guys think only you and Kagome can decide what to do? Did I say anything when she asked you to join us? Why can't Kikyo join us then? You think as though I don't have a right to state my own opinion in this group! I can do stuff too, you know," he said indignantly.

"When we joined the group it was different!"

"Exactly _how _is it different!"

"Well Kagome is going to be-" began Sango but Inuyasha cut her off,

"Kagome, Kagome, why is it _always_ KAGOME! Why can't you guys think of something else for a change. Kagome this! Kagome that! You would think she's the centre of the universe or something! You –," he was cut off by Miroku who solely had not spoken this whole conversation,

"INUYASHA!" Miroku looked around to make sure he had the full attention of all in the hut. "I think it's a very good idea to get Lady Kikyo to join our group. This way, Kagome may be found easier, and we may also get to know her a bit better-", he paused off at the look on Sango's and Inuyasha's faces,

"What do you mean 'get to know her better' you lech!" growled Inuyasha.

"What do you mean 'it's a very good idea?' said Sango at the same time and with the same look of anger on her face.

"I …well…. I didn't mean it that way," he replied to Inuyasha.

"You'd better not have!" said both of them in unison.

"Yes, well," said Miroku feeling slightly flustered, then answered Sango's question, "And she _would_ be able to help us find Lady Kagome, Sango."

Sango looked furious but said, "Fine then, I guess that's got me outnumbered."

"Of course not, Sango! You still have me on your side!" exclaimed Shippo, surprised. An avalanche occurred due mainly to the fact of a few people falling to the ground. Shippo looked indignant. Sango got up, brushed herself off, and said,

"I want a word with you, Miroku."

Miroku looked nervously at the rest of the group and followed her out of Kaede's hut.

They walked through the forest for a while and Sango stopped walking when they came across a stream. She sat down beside it and motioned for Miroku to do the same. He complied.

They were silent for a few long minutes. After a while, Miroku got restless and decided to break the silence,

"So, Sango," he began casually even though he felt quite nervous inside, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

She looked at him and then said,

"Lots of things! Why did you agree with him? Don't you know how much it hurts Kagome whenever he even looks at _her_ like he wants her? And why agree to do it when Kagome is away? What will we do if something happens and he leaves with Kikyo for good? Kagome will be heartbroken! She loves him so much. And why do you want us to get to know her better? She tried to kill them both, for god's sake." She said all this very fast as though it had been bursting to get out.

Miroku looked away and then said,

"I agreed with him because I was getting to a very dangerous level of anger for him, Sango. I had not ever seen him so fixed on a topic before. I feared that if we did not agree, he would simply walk out on us. And after he had walked out, who would he go and see but-"

"Kikyo" finished Sango, "But Inuyasha won't do that to Kagome. He loves her, even though he has a pretty stupid way of showing it most of the time.

Miroku continued,

"It's too big a risk to take. Kagome would be hurt if she found out that Inuyasha had been with Kikyo in her absence, but she would be even _more_ hurt if she had found out that he had walked out on her without saying a word to her. It would be better having them with us so that we can watch over what they do than have them alone together having nothing but a wild guess of what they could be doing. This way, we can make sure Inuyasha doesn't begin to forget Kagome exists like he usually does when he and Kikyo are alone together." he paused for a moment and then went on,

"As for getting to know Kikyo better, she is quite powerful, and has a wider knowledge of Naraku than any of us. I just think that it would be a very nice idea to know someone like her better."

"But Miroku, if they're together he'll forget about Kagome! I just know it! Kagome has a hard enough time keeping him to herself even when she's the one always around him. Do you really think she'll stand a chance if Kikyo gets to stay with him instead! All he thinks about when he is with Kikyo is Kikyo. Kagome will be dumped before she knows it," she said desperately.

"If she is, there's nothing we could do about it. I always knew the day would come when Inuyasha would want to be with Lady Kikyo as much as he is with Lady Kagome."

"What!", Sango couldn't believe her ears.

"I think its time the two ladies got equal chances of winning Inuyasha." he said and then, with an air of finality, he added,

"It is getting quite late, Sango. We must be starting back by now." He got up and walked back the way they had come from. Sango followed after him, with slight resentment showing on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters as you already know. Well I hope you didn't wait that long for the 4th chapter but here it is. I got a bit lazy last week. Anywayz on with the story. And thank you again all reviewers.

Kagome sat alone in a small, cold, dark room. Naraku had put her inside it after he had kidnapped her, saying, 'I'll come back for you later.' From the likes of it, there was a guard outside. She wondered who it was. Kagura, maybe. Or Kanna? There was nothing she could do to get out. They had removed her weapons when they had captured her. The only hope for her seemed to be the others. _They should be here by now_, she thought. _What's keeping Inuyasha_.

Inuyasha…

It had been all her own stupid fault she had gotten kidnapped. If only she hadn't 'sat' Inuyasha so many times that day. If only she hadn't lost her temper on him that day. He would have been there for her when Naraku had attacked. Maybe, Naraku had known. Maybe Naraku had chosen that moment to attack them because he had known Inuyasha wouldn't have been there. It was just a guess but it sure seemed like the sort of thing Naraku would do.

The door creaked open. She looked up and saw Kagura come inside. She was holding a bowl of rice in her hands. The wind witch put the bowl down in front of Kagome and commanded her to eat. Kagome scowled and pushed the bowl of rice away from her. Kagura shrugged and said,

"Suit yourself, but I would rather eat what little is given to me if I was in your place." She left.

Kagome sighed. She pulled the bowl of rice towards her and scowled again. There was only a small amount of rice on the bowl. That jerk Naraku had even missed out on providing something to eat the rice with. She looked up again as Kagura entered again, this time holding a glass of water in her hands. She put this down and left again. Kagome sighed and started to eat with her hands. _Please come soon Inuyasha._

Sango tossed and turned in her bed that whole night. She had been trying to sleep for a very long time with no avail. The reason for this is that she had not told Miroku all that was on her mind. Her thoughts drifted off to the day when Kagome was kidnapped. She had been awake thinking about Kagome on that night about Kagome's kidnapping when she had vaguely remembered the conversation between her and Kagome that morning. That vague conversation had gotten startlingly illuminating when she had begun to really think about it clearly. She had remembered her words. _She would have been alive back then and there wouldn't have been anything to get between them. _

She would have been alive back then. When Kagome had said these words, she had probably not even dreamed of the possibility that came to light when Sango had heard them. She had probably not thought of the possibility that her worst fears can be made into reality. And Sango didn't know if she should let her know.

She turned again and thought over her options. _If I do tell them about it Kagome would feel very hurt and betrayed, but Inuyasha would be very happy. Kagome has been a very good friend to me and she has always comforted me when Kohaku was concerned. But Inuyasha has been pretty nice to me too. He likes Kikyo but he doesn't mean to hurt Kagome and even though he tries to hide it, I know he does care about all of us._ _And there is everyone else...-_

She started as she heard movement outside. She looked out the window and saw Inuyasha sneaking off. He was probably going to Kikyo. He doesn't want us to be there when he asks Kikyo to join us. She sighed as she had known he would do something like this. He was so predictable sometimes.She decided not to confront him and was turning her attention to the problem at hand when,

"Sango"

She turned to see Miroku looking at her with a curious expression on his face.

"…..Miroku" she said hesistantly.

He raised his eyebrows questioningly and she finally decided to tell him at least. _Then he can help me make the decision_, she thought, and walked over to him.

Inuyasha ran towards the scent he had been straining to follow all day. The scent of the first woman he loved. The scent of Kikyo……….

She had been the first person after the death of his mother who had looked at him like he was something other than dirt. The first person after his mother who had treated him like he was a regular person. The first person after his mother he had loved…

He breathed in deeply. He was getting closer. He could smell her scent clearly now. It was dulled a bit by the smell of soil surrounding it, but the scent he loved so much was still there behind it. He slowed down as he had reached the owner of that delightful scent.

"Kikyo," he said softly. And she was there. The perfection that made his breath go away every time he saw her. She was standing near a tree with her lovely silk-like hair cascading down her shoulders and back, moonlight reflected in her lovely chocolate brown eyes and enhancing the natural beauty she possessed. As he stepped closer, she turned to face him, making him lose his breath once more.

'Inuyasha,' she said in that voice he so dearly loved to hear, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you with that girl?" She said this last part with hardness that made her features grow less beautiful as he watched. He breathed in her scent and walked towards her.

"Kagome was kidnapped, by Naraku.," he replied in answer. She turned away.

"I see. You have come to me for a replacement," she said again in that cold, hard voice she so frequently used on him these days. His eyes widened.

"Of course, I haven't. I came to ask you for your help," he replied fighting to keep his voice calm. She turned to face him again,

"My help?" she questioned.

"Kagome took the jewel shards with her when she was kidnapped by Naraku. Since you are the only other person who can sense them, we thought maybe, you could come join us and help us find her," he said this in a rush, his courage failing slightly at her steady gaze. _She's not going to agree,_ he thought. _She hates Kagome. She's not going to agree_. He braced himself for her angry "No" when she spoke again.

"What do you mean 'we thought', Inuyasha? Your whole group hates me."

He started at this response and said, "No, they don't. At least I don't think so. Well Shippo and Sango were a little against it, but Shippo is just a little brat. He doesn't mean much, and I don't think Sango hates you that much except for the thing between you and Kagome," he quailed slightly again at her gaze but ploughed on determined, "And Miroku seemed pretty okay with it. And they'll get pretty used to you soon and you're going to be helping us find Kagome and all and …" he was starting to wish he had started this at all. He looked down at his feet and thought, _She's going to say no. She's going to say no. She's going to say no._

"Do you want me there, and not because I'm just a replacement," she asked, turning away. He looked up outraged and exclaimed,

"Of course not! You guys are two totally different people even though you share the same soul! Neither of you is a replacement for the other. Neither of you _can_ be a replacement for the other." She stood quietly with her back facing him and then spoke,

"I shall meet you near my sister, Kaede's, shrine tomorrow at dawn." She left a surprised Inuyasha behind, her soulcollectors floating beside her.

Sango looked at Miroku and began,

"Alright. I was talking to Kagome when she happened to mention how it would be if instead of being sent to the past 50 years after the betrayal, she had been sent to the past before the betrayal happened between Inuyasha and Kikyo and she mentioned that Kikyo would be alive. And that's what got me thinking," she paused to see if Miroku was following her. He was frowning slightly but he said, "Go on."

"Well if Kikyo was alive, that means she would have had a soul, right?" she said

"Right," answered Miroku, puzzled.

"And Kagome would also have been alive too and that means that she would have had a soul too right?

"Right" Miroku answered again confused.

"So if they could both have been alive without having to share their soul, how come Kikyo can't be fully alive if Kagome is and vice versa?" she asked.

Miroku, who normally understood what anyone said to him, was completely and utterly baffled.

"Um, what!"

Sango sighed and started again,

"Well back in the past both Kikyo and Kagome would have been alive and they would both have had their souls if Kagome had gone there, right. But now only one person can have the soul because Kagome has the soul and Kikyo has only part of it. Why is that?"

Miroku was still looking pretty dazed so she started again.

"Listen, if before they could both have had...-"

"Hold on…." said Miroku who had finally arrived at what Sango had explained to him. He thought for a while more about what she had said and then said softly, "There might be a past and present state of the soul, then", he said softly. Sango nodded and said,

"That's what I thought and I also thought that, maybe, Kagome had taken into her Kikyo's state of the soul by mistake." she said relieved that Miroku had finally understood what she had been trying to tell him."So what should we do about it," she asked him.

He considered the matter at hand for a while and said, "Well, if Lady Kikyo can be brought back to life, we should give her that chance, since it _is_ Naraku's fault that she did die," he said. Sango opened her mouth to protest but he went on, "However, let's keep this matter between ourselves for a while, until Kagome has returned to us and we also have to make sure that what we think is true, and not make any wild guess work until we're sure." Sango nodded and then they went to sleep.



**Well I don't know If you understood the last part. If you didn't, I'm really sorry. My sister didn't understand when I tried to explain to her(guess I'm just bad at explaining. eh heh heh .') but please just bear with me if you don't understand. I want to make Kikyo alive without using the Shikon Jewel. If you do understand, that's great. bye for now. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey there people, long time no see, I guess. Well here's something I have been meaning to do for a real long time. Thank you to all my reviewers,**

**halfbreed-gurl****, G. Nesbitt, ****s0fetch****, tralala sang, ****Lucifael's Bride****, aya harushino, ****stupidisstupiddoes********Cyrox********BakaKenshin********dark.kagome.demon********Emerald-Mistress****, and an extra special thanks to Inukikbaby for being such a loyal reviewer. I know I thanked every one for reviews but I wanted to post up the names. So..thanks! Oh yea, _Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters in it_. **

**Now, on with the story.**

Inuyasha stifled a yawn as he lay sleeping (or pretending to) on top of an old tree. He had been awake all night thinking about Kikyo….. And Kagome. Yesterday, he had been quite keen on the idea of Kikyo joining the group. Now, however, as he really began to think about it and how Kagome would feel, the notion seemed somehow less appealing. _What would she say,_ he wondered uneasily. _What would she think if she found out that he had been with Kikyo in her absence? What if she- _

His thoughts cut off as a familiar scent washed over him. He jumped down from the tree immediately and in his haste, promptly stepped hard on Miroku who sat up in pain to see a red blur flashing past him.

"Inuyasha, ..What?" he muttered after the moving figure. And then he realized. Wincing slightly, he moved over to wake up Sango and the others.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha had reached his destination.

"Kikyo", he whispered moving closer to her and then stopped confused. She didn't seem especially pleased to see him. He shuffled awkwardly and then said,

"So…..Shall we go, then?"

She nodded and walked forwards to him. He hesitantly held his hand out to her. She took it and they walked towards the rest of the group, him wearing a secret smile on his face.

As they reached the group, they noticed that the other members of the group were awake and alert with expressions on their faces ranging from intense dislike(in Sango and Shippo's case) and mild curiousness(in Miroku's case). Inuyasha and Kikyou walked towards the others and stood before them. Inuyasha ventured to make the introductions.

"Um, so, I guess Kikyo would be joining our group," he said, and then hastened to add, (uh, for a little while anyways). _Damn why am I feeling like this. I feel so traitorous. Okay, Okay. Calm down, calm down, CALM DOWN, DAMMIT. Just act cool and everything will be okay!_

Seeing that Inuyasha wouldn't be able to say anything soon, Kikyo decided on speaking.

"Hello," she said dreading the replies of the others. _Wait why am I dreading what they are going to say._

An awkward silent reigned after Kikyo made her statement. Sango and Shippo were keeping their mouths shut to stop the possibility of saying something that might endanger Kagome's relationship with Inuyasha. Miroku, sensing that _his_ companions weren't going to be talking soon sighed and decided to talk instead.

"Good Morning, Lady Kikyo. I'm Miroku," he said finally.

Kikyo nodded at him.

Miroku sweat-dropped and then glanced at Sango and Shippo urging them to say something. They got the message and Sango started forwards, smiling forcibly,

"Hello, I'm Sango."

"Hello," Kikyo replied, slightly amused at the girl's forced smile.

Shippo was next. "Well, I'm not going to say that its great having you here. I think Kagome's way better and she…" he stopped as he saw Miroku's warning look, but too late. Inuyasha had already started forwards, ready to thump the kitsune into a pulp. However, he was intercepted by Kikyo who held him back and muttered, "he's just a child," into his ear. Shippo heard this and got angrier, "I'm not" but Miroku cut him off by saying,

"So, shall we be going, then?" he said loudly, correctly interpreting a fight situation arising.

"Oh uh, sure Miroku," said Inuyasha grateful for a change of subject, any change of subject.

"Well, then lets get going", he said leading Sango by the shoulders, though, being the pervert he was, his hand eventually drifted down to its favourite resting place. Yep, you guessed it. Her bottom.

WHAP!

He was rewarded with a very stinging slap across the cheek for his feat. Inuyasha turned red and thought, _okay, so maybe not any change of subject._ He muttered to a very amazed Kikyo,

"He's…um…..a bit on the perverted side."

She turned to him, her eyebrows raised, "I thought he was a monk."

Inuyasha reddened further, "Uh,…a _perverted_ monk?" he asked.

She shook her head to clear it and then nodded, "I think I can bear with that."

"Phew," muttered Inuyasha and they walked faster in order to catch up with the rest of the group.

The group had been traveling for quite a while until Inuyasha caught a whiff of the scent of human blood and stopped, sniffing the air. His suspicions were confirmed. There was definitely human blood, fresh human blood somewhere to the east. He told the rest of the group members this and Kikyo spoke up,

"Well, I suppose we should go and check it out."

Before the rest of the group could agree, Shippo, always ready for argument, said,

"But we can't. We've got to look for Kagome."

"But," Kikyo began.

"We need to look for Kagome," he insisted, but Kikyo was quite sure that wasn't the reason for the argument. There's only one way around this, she thought. Alout she said,

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Kagome might need some help now." Shippo scowled and said,

"No, now that I think about it, Kagome can look after herself just fine, and-," he stopped as Miroku cut him off yet again.

"Well let's go find out what the trouble is, "he said hastily, eager to pull Shippo away from realizing what Kikyo had just done. Inuyasha for once, was willing to do the same.

Everyone else followed Miroku and Inuyasha as they began to run.

When they reached the site of the commotion, they found a large number of bird demons having battle with a few humans in front of a village. The group immediately started to help defend the village. Within a few minutes the tables turned on the demons. Realizing defeat, the bird demons and their leader began to retreat to the skies.

"Oooh, no you don't," yelled Inuyasha as he unleashed the 'wind scar' on the fleeing demons. They were all torn into pieces. All except the leader who had managed to escape the attack and was now too far away to be hit. Every one put down their weapons, except Kikyo, who readied her bow, aiming for the leader. Sango widened her eyes. _Surely she doesn't think she can hit him at this distance!_ But when Kikyo let the arrow fly it went straight to the bird and shattered it to pieces. Miroku made an audible noise of admiration, but hastily pretended to cough as he felt Sango's intense glare burning into the back of his head. But if he was by any means shy to voice his amazement, the village residents around them certainly weren't. Kikyo was surrounded by thankful villagers who were uttering compliments on her excellent archery and thanking her for her help.

"Hmph," said Sango, "Its like we weren't even there." But inwardly, she too felt a twinge of admiration for Kikyo's hit, which was instantly merged with worries for Kagome, of whether Kagome was real and if she was, of what would happen when she returned to the group. Sango was looking forward to having Kagome back, but now she dreaded that moment when she would return. Inuyasha and Kikyo had seemed so…peaceful with each other. When Inuyasha and Kikyo were together, they didn't have any of those pointless squabbles he and Kagome had when they were together. She was woken out of her reverie by the villagers who had torn themselves from Kikyo long enough to thank and acknowledge the fighting skills of the rest of them in turn.

She sighed and thought, Well I guess whatever happens will happen. Besides, I guess its finally time for the crazy things that have been happening to calm down. Also, Inuyasha might not choose Kikyo over Kagome at all. After all, he _has_ been with Kagome for a long time and its not like those memories can fade away so easily. Brushing away the twinge of doubt that had arisen with this feeling of hope, she went off to join the others as they walked out of the village.

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**Well the fifth chapter is finally up. I'm glad I was able to put that little bit about Sango's thoughts at the end. I really didn't like making my favourite character not liking my second favourite girl character, but it had to be done. sigh…Oh well I hope you enjoyed that and also hope u don't have to wait so much for the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Long time no see people! I feel like I've been using quite a few of these 'long time no sees' these days, and unfortunately, I think I'll be using a lot more of these in the days coming, main reason being school. Sorry for the wait. Being an author is hard work, as I found out the hard way. I think this story is going to be finished in 3 more chapters, maybe 2. I was originally planning on 2 more but then I found out there are a lot of things to say and all, so I'll say 3 for now, just to be safe. Anyways, this chapter is all about inu and kik, so on with the story! **

**Oh almost forgot (again): I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. And once again thank you, all reviewers.**

Inuyasha lay down on top of a tree scowling. In fact, he had been doing nothing but that these past few days. Ever since the incident with the bird demons, Sango had taken it up on herself to maintain a very cold demeanor whenever she was around him. This would have been bearable enough if it hadn't triggered Shippo's bravery (or foolishness) in insulting Kikyo every chance he got. Certainly the little fox-demon would have been dead and buried already if not for Kikyo, but far from being grateful for her kindness and patience, Shippo seemed to only get angrier and more frustrated and always resorted to being more insulting than before to her. To cap it all off, Miroku determined to remain loyal to his comrades, had simply chosen to ignore everything that had been happening and provided no support at all when Inuyasha argued with the others that he was not forgetting Kagome at all.

_Dammit_, he scowled, _dammit, dammit! It's not like I'm forgetting about Kagome or anything. We just haven't found anything about her or Naraku, that's all. And Kikyo is NOT stalling us down. Even if she does hate Kagome, she wouldn't ever stop us finding her on purpose. Kikyo's not …_

His thoughts trailed off as he smelt a familiar scent below him. He looked down and said, "Kikyo…."

The miko looked up at him and replied, "Hello, Inuyasha."

"Umm, what're you doing here," he asked, nervously. _Calm down, you idiot! It's not like she's going to hurt you or anything._

"You've been gone for about 5 hours," she pointed out, "I thought perhaps you needed someone around to…" she stopped and turned around to walk away.

His eyes widened. "No Kikyo wait, he called out jumping from the tree."

She stopped and looked back at him.

He fidgeted nervously and then said, "Oh ummm…. do you… do you want to, well, stay with me here for a while. I kind of need to talk to you about something.

She hesitated, and then walked over to him. She started to sit down on the ground, but he gripped her waist with his arm and leaped up to the top of the tree.

"Inuyasha," she gasped, a little winded about the unforeseen action.

"It's more comfortable here," he said.

She raised her eyebrows but said nothing, knowing that he wouldn't let her fall to the ground. _Not that I can get hurt anyways,_ she thought bitterly, _considering what I am now._

They sat up on the tree in silence for a while until Kikyo decided to break it.

"So, what do you wish to speak to me about, Inuyasha," she queried.

He shifted awkwardly in his seat and then turned around to face her.

"Um, Kikyo, I …um...was wondering if," he stopped to draw a breath and went on, "I was wondering if... Are you trying to stop us from finding Kagome alive or something," he finished and then mentally slapped himself, _Oh great, that sounded like I was accusing her. Why don't you ever think before you speak you idiot._

She stared at him blankly, her face expressionless. She spoke, "Do you really believe that I would do that?" she asked, "I told you I would assist you in finding the girl, and I am here to do that. Why would you think I would be when I could be out there thinking of how to defeat Naraku? Do you really think that I would use such a low way to get at the girl, especially when helping you in finding her means the thwarting of Naraku in one of his plans?" she smirked, and turned away from him, "Inuyasha, you have become much like my sister in the time that has passed between then and now."

Inuyasha stared at her, "Kikyo…," he said.

"My sister would once have died rather than betray me. Now, she wants me dead, and to give my soul to another. Another that she has become more comfortable with. And so have you Inuyasha. You have both become accustomed to the girl who shares my face. What you see in her, I do not know, but in the time I have been out of this world, she has proven to be enough to break the promises that you made to me, proven enough to replace me and take nearly all I had when I was living. What happened Inuyasha? What _happened_?

Inuyasha gripped her shoulder tightly, "Kikyo. After my mother died, I was unsure of a lot of things. I was unsure whether I really was worth nothing, and if so why. I didn't know why life was worth living anymore. My mother was the only one who cared about me, and if she hadn't made me promise to keep living I wouldn't have lived anymore. But then you came along Kikyo, and then I saw in you something that both of us shared. Loneliness. You made me realize that there are people that you can be with. As long as you look hard enough, you can find them, and for the first time after my mother had died, I felt that there was someone in life worth living for. And that someone is you, Kikyo. And I was all prepared to spend the rest of my life with you, which I would have, if it hadn't been for that bastard Naraku. He ruined everything. Then when I was woken up 50 years later by a girl who looked, and smelt like you, I immediately made up my mind to hate her. But my mind, being the indecisive thing it is, wasn't steady enough, and before I knew it, that girl had inched herself, bit by bit, into my heart until I wanted to spend more and more time with her until I fell in love with her too. You have a place in my heart Kikyo, but she does, too. And they're both very different. You're both very different. You are two different people to me Kikyo. You taught me that there is always something worth living for, but she taught me that if you try hard enough, you can always make friends and meet people worth living for, whether they are like you or not. I love you both, and I admit it. I don't want to hurt Kagome by choosing you over her, Kikyo, but I won't forget about us either. I won't rest until I make Naraku pay for what he did to us and I won't ever forgive him for making a possible future impossible. I will defeat him as soon as possible and then I'll decide what I want to do, whether it is to be with Kagome or go with you to hell, Kikyo.

He stopped talking finally and started to look at her, earnestly, eyes begging her to understand. "I don't know what happened, Kikyo," he said miserably, "except that I found one day that I loved Kagome, too. I didn't even know it happened until it was too late to go back."

She looked back at him, her face devoid of any emotion. His words had not made her feel any better, if not much worse, but it sure explained a lot of things and gave her some more information than she had known before. For a long while, she just stared at him, yearning to say a long list of things, but somehow, just not able to find the words to say it. In the end, she just sighed and said, "Well, I suppose it really is your decision. We should go back to the others, now. They would be most worried about you."

He snorted, "Keh, Not very likely. They've been really pissed off at me lately. They think I'm an insensitive, two-timing, jackass, who has nothing better to do than flirt around with women all day. I'm _not_," he scowled defiantly, "_really_," he insisted looking at the expression on her face, "well not _totally!_," he said scowling even more fiercely.

She gave a tinkling sort of laugh, and then said, "Oh! Look Inuyasha, the sun's setting,"

He had started sharply at her 'oh' but now sat back down on his seat , "Feh, Nothing interesting about the stupid sunset."

"That's because you've never bothered to look at it properly," she said, "Look at it now. Don't you think sun's pretty when it sets?"

He stared out into the horizon. "Feh," he repeated.

"It is," she insisted, "When was younger, Kaede and I used to sit do-oof," she cried as she felt herself falling, only to be caught in the arms of Inuyasha.

"(I gotcha)," he said, his voice somewhat muffled, owing to the fact that he had some how crashed down the middle of the tree and now had a huge amount of wood shavings in his mouth.

"Inuyasha," said Kikyo questioningly, as she watched him get to his feet and brush wood shavings off him. His bruises had already begun to heal, and some of the minor ones were already invisible.

"It's the rosary," he explained, "Kagome fixed the thing so that whenever she says, uh, some word, I kiss the ground an affectionate welcome. Only I guess it works with you, too, because you two share the same soul."

"The Beads of Restraint, eh? What is the trigger word?"

"Why would I tell you? When Kagome was here, she would use the thing on me every single day!"

"Well, I'll just have to find out what it is, myself," she said, and then proceeded to repeat what she had been saying prior to the incident.

"Wait, wait," he yelled hastily, "it's 'sit' alright, 'sit'."

"Oh," she asked and then said very clearly, "Sit!"

"Ouch1", he said, his voice once again muffled, only this time from the ground than from the tree, "Only don't use it, okay? Cause Kagome uses it all the time and I was really kinda enjoying the break."

"Hmm," she said, a mischevious smile playing about her lips. He looked up at her, fearfully. "Wouldn't dream of it," she said smiling at him, and then extended an arm to help him get up.

_Oh my god! She's smiling at me. I haven't seen her smile like that in like, in like, well, I haven't seen it in a long time, anyway_, he thought, his heart racing, and then blinked, "Oh," he took her hand and let her raise him up. He turned away from her when he got up, so that she would not see the blush that he felt creeping up his cheeks. She took his hand in hers and then they went back to the group, both of them wearing gentle smiles on their faces.

**Whew, finally finished, and I apologize again for the wait.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, after a long wait, here's the next chapter. REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.**

"What!" gasped Sango, when she heard what had happened between Inuyasha and Kikyo in her absence. "You guys let them be alone for ALL THET TIME!"

"Not all the time," Miroku said hastily, "Kikyo only went to look for him about an hour ago."

"AN HOUR AGO," cried Sango, "They could have been-"

"No, I don't think they were!" Miroku cut in. "She didn't _seem_ like she was going to-, but yeah…..you know, it _is_ pretty hard to judge what she's thinking by her face………. and she _was_ gone for such a long time….. Oh my gosh!" he yelled. "Who knows what they're doing right now. For all we know, they could be…eek!" he cried clasping his hands over his mouth.

"Sh-Sh-Shut up you pervert!" stammered Sango, "Even they can't be doing th-that"

"They were gone for an hour!" exclaimed Miroku.

"Yeah said Sango," suddenly remembering she was supposed to be mad at them, "And it's all your fault,"

"It's not my fault," said Shippo, "I tried to stop her, but Miroku pulled me back before I could!"

"MI-RO-KUUU!" said Sango, her voice trembling, and rising with every syllable.

"Y-Y-Yes Sango?" he questioned, trembling just like her, only in his case because of fear.

"WHY DIDN'T Y-," she stopped and looked over as she heard the sound of footsteps behind them, "They're back."

Inuyasha and Kikyo were walking towards the group, wearing content smiles on their faces. But the smiles vanished instantly as they saw the group looking at them very displeasingly. Miroku had changed his look of terror into one of anger as soon as they had arrived.

"Umm….Why is everyone staring at us like that?" he asked, knowing quite well why. His hand squeezed Kikyo's in a reassuring way.

Sango scowled at him, and then glared at Miroku, who stumbled and said, "Uhh! Because you were gone so long and we were wondering if - What did you guys do!" he blurted out excitedly, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

Sango blanched, "SHUT UP, YOU PERVERT," she screamed her hand connecting with his face at the speed of a laser.

She turned back to Inuyasha and Kikyo, who were still gaping at what Miroku had said. Kikyo quickly rearranged her face into the one she usually wore, while Inuyasha turned redder and redder as the full meaning of Miroku's statement began to sink in.

At this time, Shippo decided to take charge of matters. "You guys shouldn't be alone together," he proclaimed bluntly with the air of a king.

At the face of the irritating brat speaking to him like an adult, Inuyasha quickly regained his composure, "And why not, Oh Master of the World?" he questioned, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Shippo faltered and then stopped plunged on, "Because you should be with Kagome not Kikyo."

"And why is that, Oh Arranger of Lives?" Inuyasha shot back at him.

"Because Kagome is so much nicer than her and- and- and- ummm- she's ummm- well there's lots of reasons," he finished lamely.

"But surely you can give us two examples, Oh Knower of All Things?" said Inuyasha his face no longer smiling.

Shippo glared at him, "Because Kagome isn't a stupid stuck-up bitch trying to drag you into hell that's why-Ahhhhhhhhh," he screamed as Inuyasha lunged forwards with the intent of killing, "Don't you _dare_ insult Kikyo, you stupid naïve brat! CLAWS OF BLOOD!" he roared as he slashed the air with his claws, hurting Miroku who had hurled himself in front of Shippo at the last second to prevent him from sure death.

"Get out of the way Miroku," snarled Inuyasha.

Miroku stood his ground. "No"

"I said, GET OUT OF THE WAY," he yelled as he tried to push Miroku over in an attempt to get at Shippo.

"CLAWS OF BLOOD!" he screamed again. This time it was Sango who intervened and blocked the blocked the attack with her boomerang bone.

She raised her hand and brought it to his face with the same energy she had hit Miroku with earlier that day, "You—you-!" Behind her, Shippo trembled with fear.

Miroku quickly got in front of her too. Holding her back, he faced Inuyasha, "Inuyasha, we do not care if you and Lady Kikyo get together and-,"

"Yes we do!" cried Sango.

"Miroku turned and faced her angrily, "No we DON'T." he turned back to Inuyasha,

"Its your life and you have a right to-,"

"Are you guys thinking about Kagome at ALL! Think about how she would feel!"

"Why is it always how KAGOME feels? Why isn't it ever how I feel or how _Kikyo_ feels!" exclaimed Inuyasha in exasperation, "Kagome is always sitting me when I do something wrong, even when it's somebody else's fault. And it usually is when it concerns Shippo! You guys think that just because I'm irresponsible and insensitive, I have to always be wrong in an argument!"

"Kikyo's dead," exclaimed Sango, "And she's trying to steal Kagome's man and her soul!"

"Your brother's dead!" retorted Inuyasha, "And if you found out he has to stay dead because some one else has his soul, wouldn't you want for him to stay alive too?"

"And as for stealing her man," interrupted Kikyo, "have you realized that I met Inuyasha first, and truth be told, it's Kagome who stole my soul, my man, and took my place as the priestess?"

"For one, you deserve it, and also, you want him to die with you don't you! What kind of a priestess are you anyways?" snapped Sango.

"Have you thought of how life would be for me if I did choose to stay? I am living with half a soul, I can't live my normal life because my reincarnation has stolen it and how would it be if we decided to have a wedding and suddenly people like you are there, trying to stop it from happening?"

"Inuyasha, don't gang up on her," squeaked Shippo from behind Sango(A/N Yeah I know I'm being mean to him, but I just feel like clobbering the little twerp.)

"Oh so it's okay for you guys to gang up on me with Kagome but it's not okay for me to gang up against Sango is it?"

"EVERYONE, BE **QUIET**!" yelled Miroku, and everyone did as they had never heard Miroku raise his voice before. "ahem" he said before saying, "While you people have been arguing, have you noticed that Naraku's aura has been slowly rising and becoming more clear?"

"What? No way!" said Inuyasha but as he pricked up his nose, he smelt his scent too.

"Which way is it, Lady Kikyo?" asked Miroku.

Kikyo searched the aura, and then raised her hand to point it vaguely to the east.

"Let's go," yelled Inuyasha.

Sango hurriedly got up on the now transformed Kirara, and pulled Kikyo up behind her. _No way am I letting her ride Inuyasha like Kagome does_. Kikyo blinked at the girl's strength as she pulled her up, almost effortlessly. She wondered if she would have been able to defeat her if she had decided to fight. _Not without major injuries_, she decided.

Shippo quickly deposited himself off Kirara and went to cling onto Miroku's shoulder. Miroku shrugged and then, followed the others as they started off to the west.

**Yay! finished. You know I was pretty indecisive as to what to put in this chapter, and how to link up the Inukik scene to the Naraku scene. This is a kind of unoriginal way, I know, but it was the best I could come up with.**

**And once again Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

"They're coming," smirked Naraku, "coming to get the girl."

"Kagura!" he called out sharply to his detachment, "Go, and guard the girl's chamber!"

Kagura scowled, but did as she was told to. _God when will I be free of him!_

As she reached Kagome's room, the girl started to scream in her sleep. _Inuyasha Inuyasha Inuyasha Inuyasha Inuyasha…._and on and on and on!

"Stupid girl", she snarled as she strode over to Kagome and shook her awake roughly. "Wake up and stop the screeching. Just 'because you can't have rest doesn't mean you have to rob everyone else of it."

"Shut up!" shot back Kagome, "You jerks are the cause of all this, anyways. Don't you try to lecture me!"

"Be quiet!" snapped Kagura, so roughly that Kagome flinched. _Serves her right_, thought Kagura. _Who does she think she is, comparing me to that bastard Naraku? The stupid girl can't even realize that I want to be as free from Naraku as much as she is! I have it way worse, especially since I'm the one who Naraku orders to go to her whenever she throws a childish temper tantrum._

Kagura shook her head to clear out her anger. Naraku had commanded her to be civil with the prisoner. She would be, but that certainly didn't mean she would enjoy it. She glared at Kagome and sat down grumpily on the floor beside her. "God life sucks" she said. Inwardly, Kagome agreed.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and the others were nearing Naraku's location, Sango and Kikyo on the lead as they were riding on Kirara. Sango looked in front of them and saw that Kanna and the Saimyoshou were waiting for them.

"I think he's expecting us!" she yelled to the others.

"Agreed!" cried Miroku, "Naraku probably let down his guard on purpose for us to come after him!"

"Seems like the bastard _really_ likes making death wishes." said Inuyasha, "He's not going to get away with anything this time. Not with kidnapping Kagome for so long!"

Kikyo felt a twinge of jealousy at his words. She quickly hid it, though, as they had reached their destination. Kanna and the Saimyoshou were standing in front of what seemed like another one of Naraku's castles. The demon slayer in front of her raised her boomerang and threw it in an arc slashing many of the saimyoushou to pieces. The monk also attacked the saimyoushou, with just as satisfying a result. Inuyasha tried to get into the castle but jumped back as miasma came flowing out of it.

"Sango, go get kagome," he yelled and Sango dropped Kikyo off and fastened on her filter mask in order to get to the castle. But just before she reached it, she saw a flash of brown hair departing onto the woods behind her. _Kohaku_, she thought and changed her course, following after her brother instead. _I'm sorry Kagome._

At the sight of Sango going after her brother, Naraku smirked.

"How can they be so predictable? It's so easy to separate them." he said laughing to himself. The smirk quickly left his face, though, as he saw a flash of light disperse and purify his miasma. He wondered quickly if the girl, Kagome, had proven to be more than a match for Kagura. Surely not! Then he saw the miko robes. Even in the dark of the miasma, he could make out the face.

"KIKYO," he said, his eyes widening.

………………………………………….

Kagura smirked to herself as she saw the miko fire the arrow and purify the poison. _Naraku's plan is going haywire_, she thought smiling. She heard movement behind her, and looked back to duck just in time. The girl was standing up, apparently, knowing that her friends were at last here to rescue her. Kagura gritted her teeth and opened up her fan.

………………………………………

Kagome stood up on shaky legs. She held the bow in front of her and sent another arrow at Kagura, missing by a lot. Kagura smirked and sent a few slashes of wind playfully around Kagome, missing her just enough to frighten her out of her wits. Kagome clenched her jaw and shot another arrow at Kagura, its direction as awry as the first. Kagura, smirked and sent another stream of blows at the girl, this time even closer than the first set, though still not harming er. Not physically anyways. Emotionally, though, the blows were doing a lot. The girl was definitely terrified. She was shaking from head to toes, and this made the other few arrows she threw at Kagura very easy to block. A shout from Inuyasha outside caused them both to look out of the window. Naraku was outside. _Seems_ _like he realized that things are pretty much not going according to plan,_ she thought, and tensed up again as Kagome had sent yet another arrow at her. She needn't have worried as the last one had as much effect as the first few, if not less.

"You know, girl I _am_ your opponent." she said, smiling contemptuously at Kagome. She didn't even know why Naraku had thought that kidnapping her would break up the whole team. (A/N Yeah that's the reason for why she was kidnapped. Sorry if you don't think its good enough)

"I know that!" said kagome glaring at the wind-witch, all the while fighting to keep her calm.

"Oh! I thought you were aiming for that fly on the wall over there," said Kagura feigning surprise.

"Shut up!!", screamed Kagome, "There's nothing here in this stupid place except you and me, you…you ……….irritating witch!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," smirked Kagura, "And there's no need to point out the obvious. I already know there isn't anything here except….except…."Her eyes widened as she realized the truth. Naraku and the saimyoshou were fighting. That meant Naraku couldn't know what she was doing. She flicked her fan at the door, blowing it open. "Get going, girl!"

"Huh," said Kagome, standing on the spot like a deer in headlights.

"Go! Get out! Your friends can easily kill Naraku if they were being idiots and trying to get you right now!" she snapped in annoyance at the girl's stupidity. Kagome finally understood and ran out the door, down the corridor, and out the fron door.

"Inuyasha," she cried.

Inuyasha looked from his fight with Naraku and cried, "kagome! You're safe."

"What?!" yelled Naraku. _Damn her!_

He sent a tentacle at her, that Inuyasha saw too late. "kagome!" he cried and then a smile split his face as he saw that Kikyo had shot an arrow at the tentacle stopping and destroying it in its tracks.

Naraku, however, was feeling quite the opposite. He turned around and tried to make his escapade but got surprised again, as Sango was on the air in front of him. She raised her boomerang and flung it in his direction. It would have just bounced off his shield, if Kikyo had an arrow at it, destroying it and leaving his open and vulnerable. The boomerang sliced off one of his tails, and Sango caught it as it came back to her. He turned to go to the castle but stopped again as Inuyasha brought it crashing down with his Wind Scar. "Grr", he growled as he realized there was no way out.

……………………………………………

Kouga was running around, hunting for food, when he smelt Naraku's blood. "Come on," he yelled to Ginta and Hakkaku as he raced towards the smell, leaving his sidekicks far behind.

……………………………………………

Sesshomaru was walking with Jaken and Rin, when, he too smelt the blood. "Jaken. Watch Rin!" he ordered as he made his way to Naraku.


End file.
